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Akin leads McCaskill in Family Research Council-commissioned poll

Akin's support among Missourians, and viability as a candidate, plummeted last week after comments he made, that pregnancy in cases of "legitimate rape" is rare because "the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down," exploded nationwide. Prominent Republicans, including GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, disavowed the comments and asked Akin to step down from the nomination, as they feared his candidacy could risk their chances at gaining a majority stake in the Senate.

But Akin declined those requests, choosing instead to persist with his bid and find alternate backing, in the form of grassroots fundraising in Missouri and a trickle of support from conservatives, including the Family Research Council.

FRC Action, the legislative advocacy arm of the FRC, commissioned the poll, and FRC Action PAC chairman and prominent social conservative Tony Perkins touted the results as evidence that "voters are returning to the substance of this race."

"FRC Action PAC has enthusiastically endorsed Todd Akin for the U.S. Senate and will work to bring attention to the stark contrast between Todd Akin's pro-family, fiscally responsible record and Senator McCaskill's record of taxpayer funding for abortion and government-controlled health care," Perkins said in a release.

The poll also shows that a full 80 percent of voters have already made up their minds, indicating the candidates will have to battle it out for a small proportion of votes in the tate.

The survey was conducted among 829 likely voters from Aug. 27-28, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.